Half-Life 2: Episode 2 Walkthrough - The Beginning
A Portal Storm and A Very Important Gnome
Time to start up a new adventure. After the recap, we’ll wake up in a wrecked train car. Get your bearings and then start moving down the train. It will start to tip at the end, so you’ll just have to aim your fall toward the door. Go out and into the final train car. As it floods, Alyx will run up and try to help. Just wait until she gets the gravity gun and pulls off the door.
Head on out and down the path to the little outlook. You should be able to see the ruins of the Citadel. Watch the cool portal storm and make sure you turn around to see Valve show off the physics engine with the collapsing bridge. The big crash will destroy the fence blocking the mine, so you can head inside now.
Move forward and into the tunnel and then drop down. There’s a zombie in the corner, so let Alyx kill him. Then grab a propane can with the gravity gun. You shouldn’t have to use it, but it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Hang back and let the zombies and the antlions wear away at each other. Alyx should be able to gun down anything that comes toward you. Once the fighting dies off, go forward and kill off any survivors by nailing them the propane tanks. Just be very careful, since a zombine often comes out with a grenade from the left corner. Then open the door to the little control room.
Look around for a moment while Alyx tries to work the monitor. While we’re here, look by the closed back door. Underneath a little platform, there’s a garden gnome. If you want the achievement for sending a gnome to the moon, then you need to grab this guy and carry him all the way to White Forest and put him in the rocket. It’s pretty simple though. It just takes a little dedication.
Alyx should jump up and try to fix the monitor’s wiring. This will knock down a cable. Use the gravity gun to put it into the socket. This will start up the monitor and give you a new mission objective. All the intel Alyx grabbed in episode one seems to be very valuable. Head on out once they’re done talking.
Meet the Hunter
You need to go over to the trainyard. Climb up the hill and use this position to jump over the fence. You should take a note of the dead antlions and the strange howl. Climb up the ladder by the trains. If you turn and look behind you, you should be able to see a glimpse of the hunter robot stalking you. Jump over to the next car and then get onto the roof. Pull the metal off of the hole and drop down into the little office. Press the button and take note of the rebel who apparently got pinned to the wall in the next room. That’s a warning. Pull the bar out of the floor panel and knock it out. Drop down and use the gravity gun to push it all the way back. You should be able to crawl out and approach the exit. This gives you a front row seat to the hunter stabbing Alyx.
Just wait for now. You’re trapped under the rubble. A vortigaunt should come along in a minute to rescue you and Alyx. Lead him forward and clear away the boards in your path. You should be able to curve around and make it to a little elevator. Jump inside and use the gravity gun to pull the crowbar out of the gears. This makes the whole elevator crash to the bottom though. Stay in the center and crouch to guarantee survival. We’re separated for the time being.
More Antlions
Knock off the boards and clear a path into the office. Go ahead and grab the shield battery before you move out into the main mine. Jump onto the elevator lift and use the winch to lift yourself up to the next level. Jump off when it gets up there. There’s a cache above it, but it’s not really worth an extra trip. Step out and look for a pistol in a cabinet. You’ll need this one soon. Look down the hole and drop down to face an antlion. Use the gravity gun to knock it back and kill it with the pistol.
Move forward and head into the next area. You should be able to just drop down into the water. There’s nowhere to swim to for this one. Just come back to the top and jump into the antlion tunnels. Those little worms on the wall are harmless antlion larvae. You can step on them or just kill them with anything to get little antlion nodules. These will restore a bit of your health, so step on them when you can. There’s also an achievement, but it’s a real pain to find all of them. I haven’t done it in 4 playthroughs.
Follow the tunnels forward until you get to another big hole. Drop down carefully and get out into the tunnel below. Move quickly, since the area above will collapse down on you quickly. There should also be a black headcrab down here, so stay alert. Go forward a bit further and drop down to see an antlion acid-lion. This tough new enemy likes to spit acid at you, so be ready for a fight. Use the pistol to drive it back and take it out. Move down the tracks and over to the left to take out another antlion acid-lion. There are two more at the end, but we aren’t going to deal with them just yet. Run over to the left and grab the shotguns over from the side. These are great for killing the antlion acid-lions. One double blast will blow them apart. You should be able to just ignore these guys for now, but we might as well clear out the area.
A Little Swimming
Break away the boards and drop down into the area below. Go t
hrough this little tunnel. You should pick up a magnum along the way. Our arsenal should be looking pretty good by now actually. Stick to the shotgun for the time being though. Pop out on the other side and clear away the barrels to get access to the antlion caverns. Blow away the 2 acid-lions who should be guarding the entrance. Then move up the slope. One more should drop down by the entrance. Turn around and blast him. Jump off the slope to get to the next area. Grab the shield battery and get ready to clear out another acid-lion or two.
Jump into the water when you’re ready and swim down. There should be a cache hidden on the other side of the lake. You can break it open with the crowbar if you want some more health and ammo. Move through the little tunnel to pop out on the other side. You’ll get a little reminder that antlions can’t swim as you come out.
There will be 2 waves of antlions moving across the shallow pond towards you. The barnacles should take care of most of them. Just use the shotgun to take out any that make it across the kill zone. Avoid the barnacles yourself and cross over. Go around the little corner in the tunnel to end up on the other side of a larger pond. Just hang back and dodge the acid-lion’s acid spit. The 4 antlions with it should try to attack you and crash into the pool. The acid-lion should even fall into the pool shortly, if you really want to save ammo. Just let them drown and swim across it to the next set of tunnels.
Go further into the curling maze until you face a few acid-lions in an open space. Use the shotgun to blast them and then clear the webbing by the little tunnel. Jump up into it and move along it. You should get a loading screen that will end the chapter.
This post is part of the series: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 Walkthrough - Part 1
We’ve got a long way to travel with Alyx and her vital information. We need to make it through the long forest path all the way up to White Forest to join the rebel base. If you need any help getting past the antlions, zomies, and combine in your way, then look here.
